DOWNTOWN CONCERT VENUE SHUTS DOWN

4th and B cancels shows; owners in lease dispute

4th & B, one of the largest and oldest pop concert venues in downtown San Diego, appears to be history, at least in its current form and under its current ownership.

Ticket sales for all pending shows at the 21-and-up venue, including Wednesday’s performance by pioneering hip-hop group Public Enemy and the Dec. 14 concert by reggae music mainstay Barrington Levy, have been halted.

“It is my understanding that all the upcoming shows have been canceled,” Issa Wilson, 4th & B’s marketing and promotions director, said in an email Thursday from Los Angeles. “Honestly, I have not been able to get the latest status on the situation.”

That situation pits 4th & B’s current owner/operators against the owner and leaseholder of the 21,000-square-foot building that houses 4th & B.

On Nov. 26, San Diego Superior Court Judge William S. Dato denied a petition in which current owners Vincent and Judy Puma of Speth Brothers Inc. sought relief from forfeiture of a lease. The forfeiture stemmed from a Nov. 15 court judgment, also by Dato, that resulted in the Pumas’ rental agreement being canceled.

As a result of the Nov. 15 ruling, the Pumas were ordered to pay $125,077.56 in back rent and “holdover damages” to the site’s owner, Crown Invest LLC. A writ seeking eviction of the Pumas from 4th & B was filed Nov. 27 in San Diego Superior Court.

Calls made to Vincent Puma on Wednesday and Thursday were not returned. A representative for his attorney, San Diego-based Christian A. Curry, said Thursday that Curry “cannot comment on an ongoing case.”

Crown Invest LLC is represented by Christopher J. Connolly of Connolly Law Office in Cardiff. “I’m not in a position to make a comment,” Connolly said Thursday.

4th & B, a former First Interstate Bank building, opened its doors Nov. 30, 1995, with a sold-out show by Crosby, Stills & Nash. The 1,500-capacity venue was opened by Bob Speth, who previously owned and operated what was one of the area’s top music clubs, the Bacchanal, in Kearny Mesa.

In late 2003, Speth sold the venue to real estate developers Eric DeBlasi, the owner of 17 nightclubs across the nation, and Dale Polselli. In early 2005, Ali Nilforushan, a majority owner in Pacific Entertainment, acquired full ownership of 4th & B. It was Nilforushan who sold it to Vincent and Judy Puma in 2009.

The Pumas lost their Rancho Bernardo home in the 2007 wildfires, which also destroyed a lifetime’s collection of rock-and-roll memorabilia, including Eddie Van Halen-autographed guitars, T-shirts and albums.

During Speth’s tenure, 4th&B hosted concerts by B.B. King, Linda Ronstadt, Wu Tang Clan, Crystal Method, Tito Puente, Gregg Allman and many other major acts. However, when 4th & B opened 17 years ago, there were no other comparably sized venues downtown presenting national and international talent on a weekly basis.

That changed in 2005, when House of Blues opened just a few blocks away. Although its capacity is only two-thirds that of 4th & B, HOB is part of a national chain of live music clubs owned by Live Nation, the world’s largest concert and live events promoter. The advent of HOB here made it difficult for 4th&B to book top acts without getting into a bidding war with HOB. Following a major turnover of 4th & B’s staff two years ago, both the quantity and quality of the venue’s bookings steadily declined.

“Once Bob Speth decided to get out, 4th & B really hasn’t measured up to what it was capable of,” said veteran San Diego concert promoter Tim Mays, who owns the much smaller Casbah nightclub in Middletown. Over the years, Mays presented concerts at 4th & B by White Stripes, Nick Cave and dozens more.

“There are certain bands a venue the size of 4th & B is useful for,” Mays noted, “but there aren’t enough to fill it on a regular basis.”